"When they entered the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom they found Professor Umbridge already seated at the teacher’s desk, wearing the fluffy pink cardigan of the night before and the black velvet bow on top of her head. Harry was again reminded forcibly of a large fly perched unwisely on top of an even larger toad."

Contents

Biography

Early life

Dolores Umbridge was the first child of a wizard named Orford Umbridge and a MuggleEllen Cracknell. Her younger brother was a Squib, but Dolores was born a witch. Under her father's influence, she despised her Muggle mother and her Squib brother, considering them inferior to her and her father, and Dolores and her father denounced them. Ellen and her son returned to the Muggle world, never to be heard of again.

After leaving Hogwarts, Umbridge quickly rose to influential positions in the British Ministry of Magic. At the age of 17, just after leaving Hogwarts, she started her political career as an intern in the Improper Use of Magic Office, and by the age of 30, she became the Head of the Office, due to her ruthless tactics and tyrannical leadership under her sweet attitude.

She, being very opportunistic and power-hungry, was ashamed of her father, who was a low-level worker in the Department of Magical Maintenance, while she was seeking a professional career. Under her pressure, he retired early and she promised him a small monthly allowance in exchange for quietly leaving the public sight, but it is pretty clear that she lied to him so she could sever all ties with him, and denounced him. From that point on she lied about her family, claiming that she was a pure-blood rather than a half-blood. She became Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic and had a place amongst the Wizengamot.

Whenever she was asked (usually by workmates who did not like her) 'are you related to that Umbridge who used to mop the floors here?' she would smile her sweetest, laugh, and deny any connection, claiming that her deceased father had been a distinguished member of the Wizengamot. Nasty things tended to happen to people who asked about Orford, or anything that Dolores did not like taking about, and people who wanted to remain on her good side pretended to believe her version of her ancestry.

Umbridge's hatred towards "half-breeds" led her to draft a piece of anti-werewolf legislation in 1993, which prevents people with lycantrophy to have a full-time job, which made it nearly impossible for werewolves, such as Remus Lupin, to find work. She also suggested that the merpeople be rounded up and tagged and also planned to create the legislation of it as well, but it was never put to action, since it was too absurd to be ever put into effect.

What Umbridge did not reveal at the time was that she herself had ordered the Dementor attack on Harry and his cousin Dudley Dursley, leaving him no choice but to violate the Decree by casting a Patronus. She claimed such an order was impossible. However, in June the next year, she revealed to a small group of Hogwarts students she had in fact made that order, believing that it was the most effective way to silence his claims about Voldemort's return.

D.A.D.A professor (1995-1996)

"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. [...] Every headmaster and headmistress of Hogwarts has brought something new to the weighty task of governing this historic school, and that is as it should be, for with out progress there will be stagnation and decay. There again, progress for progress's sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. [...] Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness, and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited."

In 1995, Umbridge was placed at Hogwarts as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, by order of the Ministry of Magic, under the terms of Educational Decree Number Twenty-Two, without Albus Dumbledore's consent. It was clear that she was used by the Ministry mostly as a spy placed by Fudge, since he was paranoid about Dumbledore, and was not fond of children, as she once confessed to Harry.[5]

She rudely interrupted Dumbledore's opening feast announcements, which no new teacher had done before, before giving a very dull speech that Hermione Granger summed up rather well: "The Ministry is interfering at Hogwarts"; the other students simply drifted off to talk with each other, while some prefects pretended to listen to live up to their duties, and the teachers looked displeased at every word that came out of her mouth.

Umbridge teaching her DADA class purely defencive theory

She taught according to a politically-restricted Ministry-approved curriculum which entailed learning strictly the theory of Defence Against the Dark Arts, with no practical applications. Umbridge taught exclusively from a singularly useless book: Defensive Magical Theory, by Wilbert Slinkhard, which seemed, based on the chapter headings, to concern itself with negotiation and appeasement of, rather than with defence against, the Dark Arts. By teaching basic defensive theory as opposed to real spells that would prepare her students for the outside world, she and the Ministry hoped to decrease the chance that Dumbledore could form a wizard army of students to overthrow the Ministry. This was also used since she had no teaching abilities whatsoever.[5]

Umbridge's office as a professor.

Most students were concerned and felt they would be left defenceless against the Dark Arts, since the book was useless. Some spoke out openly in class, such as Hermione, Ron, Harry, Dean Thomas, and Parvati Patil, but were immediately silenced or punished by Umbridge. She steadfastly stuck to the Ministry line that Lord Voldemort had not returned and that Harry Potter's claims were only to get attention for himself. When Harry dared to contradict the Ministry of Magic's stance, Umbridge punished him by forcing him to write the phrase "I must not tell lies" repeatedly with a Blood Quill, eventually leaving him scarred.[5] Due to her support of the Ministry and her tyrannical ways, Umbridge became a heavily disliked person by the majority of the school (students and teachers alike) in less than a week from her arrival.

After working at Hogwarts for a short while and having a discussion with the Minister, Educational Decree Number Twenty-Three increased Umbridge's power and influence in Hogwarts: she was appointed the first-ever "Hogwarts High Inquisitor," and used this position to evaluate, harass, and fire any teachers at Hogwarts deemed unsatisfactory by her or the Ministry. Umbridge was rude to many of the teachers she evaluated, especially those with close ties to Professor Dumbledore, (at one point measuring Filius Flitwick), and those she considered unfit to teach, such as Sybill Trelawney.

Dumbledore's Army an illegal organisation that was created to teach students practical defencive magic

To combat Umbridge's repressive stance of not teaching practical defensive magic, Harry formed a group to teach practical Defence Against the Dark Arts. However, Umbridge, learning that the group was created and afraid that the students would soon start to rebel against her, soon abolished all student groups of three or more members, meaning that students were not allowed to be seen together in a group whose members numbered three or more or they would be suspected of rule breaking. This also included Quidditch teams. She permitted them to be reformed if they asked for permission, and only if she deemed them to be allowable, which meant that Dumbledore's Army became an illegal organisation.

These actions were sanctioned by the Ministry of Magic in the form of Educational Decrees, but students merely found ways to circumvent or avoid them. With her new power, she dismissed Sybill Trelawney as Professor of Divination; however, she was foiled in her attempt to send Trelawney away from the school, since Albus Dumbledore still had the power to keep Trelawney on school grounds and chose to exercise those powers.

Umbridge was horrified when Dumbledore replaced Trelawney with a centaur named Firenze; however, she could not prevent Firenze from being given the job, as the Ministry's rules only allowed her to appoint a new teacher if Dumbledore could not find one himself, since the Ministry was counting on Dumbledore being unable to find a new teacher. Umbridge considered Firenze, like all centaurs, as a "filthy half-breed", an opinion which would later get her into trouble.[5]

Headmistress

"You filthy little beasts would never have dropped Stink Pellets if you'd known I had it in my power to whip you raw, would you, now? Nobody would have thought of throwing Fanged Frisbees down the corridors if I could've strung you up by the ankles in my office, would they? But when Educational Decree Number Twenty-Nine comes in...I'll be allowed to do them things...oh, things are going to be very different around here with her in charge! "

—Argus Filch on his happiness for Umbridge becoming Headmistress of Hogwarts[src]

Umbridge makes front page, Umbridge Made Head of Hogwarts

In 1996, Umbridge and many other Slytherins found the D.A. in the Room of Requirement, after they were betrayed by Marietta Edgecombe, when Umbridge threatened to make sure her mother would lose her job at the Ministry. She tried to prosecute Harry and have him thrown out of Hogwarts for forming the Defence of Dark Arts club, but Dumbledore took advantage of lack of evidence and organisation's name to take the blame — claiming that he had invited the group to attend this meeting and no other such gatherings had taken place in the intervening time, and also the fact that the group was formed before it was made illegal — and he disappeared from Hogwarts, after a minor scuffle with Aurors and the Minister for Magic himself. She soon after formed the Inquisitorial Squad, which rewarded certain students for reporting on others and sanctioned them to act as enforcement goons.

Thanks to the newly passed Educational Decree Number Twenty-Eight, Umbridge replaced Dumbledore as Headmistress, but found herself in over her head as she became the target of numerous pranks performed by Hogwarts students in attempt to make her life a living hell, many of which were orchestrated by Fred and George Weasley. Before Fred and George flew away on their brooms, they gave the mission of making Umbridge's rule of the school as hard as possible to Peeves, who, even though he never took a single order from any student, saluted them and complied with pure joy.

This included doing things that made her work harder, like bursting out of blackboards, pushing over statues, toppling neatly stacked piles of parchment into fires, and following Umbridge around for hours, blowing raspberries every time she spoke. Umbridge had previously asked Cornelius Fudge to sign an order for the expulsion of Peeves, but if any such order was ever signed, it was clearly unsuccessful at his removal, since he was literally impossible to be kicked out of Hogwarts. The Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor's office also, much to her dismay, became the Headmistress's Office, as the Headmaster's Tower, which apparently realised that she was not the true Head of the school, sealed itself against her, preventing her from using it.

The teachers, who disliked Umbridge intensely, did as little to help her in her duties as possible, many going out of their way to make things difficult for her by requesting her assistance in removing various charms and pranks by claiming that they weren't sure they had the 'authority' to do so. The teachers also lavished favours on Harry in the form of House Points and even sweets, specifically Squeaking Sugar Mice from Professor Flitwick, for resisting against her.[5]

Minerva McGonagall, who intensely disliked Peeves and his antics, refused to stop him and even gave him advice on how to perform his actions. The only staff member who supported Umbridge whole-heartedly was the caretaker, Argus Filch, who grew to like her methods, as well as being given permission to torture students himself. She later fired Gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid, as he was a Half-giant. When attempting to subdue and force Hagrid off the school's grounds with five Ministry of Magic officials, they seriously injured Professor Minerva McGonagall, who was protesting the force used to wrangle Hagrid, which was so scandalous that, while the event was occuring, an O.W.L. Astronomy test was just near the action and even the instructor objected.[5]

Umbridge interfered with as much as she could while in her various positions at Hogwarts. She tried to prevent Harry Potter from contacting his godfather Sirius Black. She read all incoming and outgoing student mail, and even Hedwig, Harry Potter's owl, was injured. It was hypothetically suggested that Hedwig was attacked by a Thestral, but there is also the more likely possibility that she was manhandled by Umbridge herself or Argus Filch, who gleefully assisted Umbridge in anything she requested of him.[5]

Centaurs drag Dolores Umbridge away upon being called 'filthy half-breeds' and 'creatures of near-human intelligence'

She then claimed that the illegal Cruciatus Curse might "loosen your [his] tongue", showing her true diabolical and psychopathic side. Hermione, much in shock, protested against it, but Umbridge simply brushed her off and noted that what "Cornelius doesn't know, cannot hurt him." Desperate, Hermione tricked Umbridge into following her and Harry into the Forbidden Forest in search of an alleged "secret weapon" of the Order of the Phoenix. There, Umbridge was confronted by a herd of centaurs, whom she shamelessly insulted with racial slurs and arrogance. Umbridge then attacked one of the centaurs near her. She was chased and nearly killed by them. Although she survived, her wand was snapped in half when one of the centaurs stepped on it.[5]

Umbridge was ultimately rescued by Dumbledore, although she was apparently left with a significant fear of centaurs afterwards, reacting violently at even the sound of hoofbeats. How Dumbledore managed to rescue her from the human-hating centaurs without suffering any injury himself remained a mystery, though it is likely that centaurs had respect for Albus, based on their salute at his funeral.[5]

Suspension

After Voldemort appeared in the Ministry of Magic and was seen by a number of people, including Cornelius Fudge, Dumbledore was restored as the Headmaster. Umbridge, who had been in the school's hospital wing, tried to leave the castle without anyone noticing. Peeves the Poltergeist discovered her and chased her out, beating her over the head alternately with a walking stick and a sock full of chalk, leading a crowd of students. Professor Minerva McGonagall expressed regret at not being able to chase Umbridge herself because Peeves had borrowed her walking stick and she was not fully recovered.[5]

Return to the Ministry (1996-1998)

Umbridge later returned to the position of Senior Under-Secretary at the Ministry and told the new Minister, Rufus Scrimgeour, about Harry's wish to become an Auror (to Harry's anger). She was later seen at Albus Dumbledore's funeral at Hogwarts, though she did not speak, and was startled by the sight of Firenze. She feigned grief and looked scandalised when Hagrid blew his nose with loud trumpeting noises.[8]

Muggle-Born Registration Commission

Alderton: "No, no, I'm half-blood, I tell you! My father was a wizard, he was, look him up, Arkie Alderton, he's a well known broomstick designer, look him up, I tell you — get your hands off me, get your hands off —"

Umbridge: "This is your final warning. If you struggle, you will be subjected to the Dementor's Kiss. Take him away."

Following Voldemort's takeover of the Ministry of Magic in 1997, Umbridge resumed her post as Under-Secretary and oversaw the registration and persecution of Muggle-born witches and wizards. She conducted trials with sadistic pleasure, subjecting innocent Muggle-borns to the presence of Dementors and sending them to Azkaban for supposedly stealing magic from "real" witches and wizards. She also wrote the prejudiced propaganda booklet Mudbloods and the Dangers They Pose to a Peaceful Pure-Blood Society,[6] which featured a cover including a rose being strangled by green weeds.

Following Alastor Moody's murder at the hands of Death Eaters in the Battle of the Seven Potters, Umbridge took possession of his magical eye. Affixing it to her office door, she could terrorise all Ministry employees with the mere concept that she could observe their every move.[6]

Dolores and Yaxley being hit by Harry and Ron's respective stunning spells

She boasted of this supposed connection to Hermione Granger, who was in the guise of Ministry employee Mafalda Hopkirk, during one of Umbridge's blood purity hearings. At that moment, full of rage, Harry Potter attacked Umbridge and Yaxley. Umbridge was stunned, leaving Harry and Hermione free to snatch the locket from around Umbridge's neck and flee the scene. Hermione created a copy of the locket to leave with Umbridge, so that she did not become suspicious.[6]

Umbridge's office at the Ministry

It is not clear exactly why Umbridge felt it necessary to emphasise her wizarding ancestry, though in the case of some other wizards this has been because they wished to distract attention from some non-wizarding ancestors. When the locket was in the possession of Harry Potter and companions, it exerted a malign influence on each of them when they wore it. Due to Umbridge's wicked nature she'd developed an "affinity" for the object and so the Horcrux — rather than impart a negative effect on her — actually strengthened her.[9]

Imprisonment (Post 1998)

Physical appearance

Dolores Umbridge

Dolores Umbridge is described to be a short squat woman resembling a large pale toad. She had a broad, flabby face, a wide, slack mouth, and little neck. Her eyes were bulging and pouchy, and in her mousy brown hair she often wore a black velvet bow, which reminded Harry of a fly perched dangerously above a toad, furthering Umbridge's toad-like characteristics. She spoke with a simpering high-pitched voice that was girlish and breathless, contrary to her appearance (Harry expected a croak) and decorated her office with kittens and other cute pink things. Her wide toad-like smile and tendency to speak in a sugary voice that has been described as poisoned honey is a physical exemplification of her cruelty that is barely hidden by her seemingly harmless dress-style. Umbridge's thick, stubby fingers were adorned with several gaudy old rings. She also was said to have a big bosom, as noted by Harry Potter when he saw Slytherin's locket lying there.

Professor Umbridge teaching

Umbridge is seen wearing various green tweed outfits, usually with a pink fuzzy cardigan on top, giving her greater toad-like qualities. The head-to-toe matching outfits, usually in shades of pink, were worn while she taught and during her duties as High Inquisitor. According to Harry, she looked like someone's maiden aunt, and that her style of dressing would fit someone half her age. During Harry's hearing regarding under-age magic, Umbridge wore the black robes of the Wizengamot with a silver "W" on it.

Also, while she interrogated Muggle-borns, she wore Salazar Slytherin's locket on top of her frilly, girlish pink outfits in an attempt to prove her blood purity, claiming that the S stood for the pure-blood Selwyn family. However, since her imprisonment in Azkaban, it is unlikely that she still wears any of her old outfits, but instead wears the black and white striped uniform of the prison.

Personality and traits

Dolores Umbridge was clearly an evil woman[9][11] — nothing short of a sociopath — who characterised the worst aspects of political power. She was ruthless, cruel, brutal, corrupt, and devoid of a moral or ethical centre. She was depicted using any means to maintain her personal power and the political power of her bosses. She committed attempted soul-removal (via the Dementor attack on Harry), solicited bribes, and tortured children to achieve her goals. Her draconian ideals of discipline, such as having victims write lines in their own blood using a Black Quill, which carves the words into the back of the writers hand, were considered by Harry and Ron to be "sick".

Dolores Umbridge at her desk with her kitten plates

Her cruelty was disguised by her quiet, childish, high-pitched voice (which both took Harry aback and made the hair on his neck stand up straight, as he had expected a croak), as well by decorating her office with paraphernalia related to kittens, chocolate cakes, biscuits, tea, and other cute things to the point of being sickening. Her personality has been described as "poisoned honey"; it was said on various occasions that the sweeter her voice was, the more dangerous or infuriated she became. She also tended to give her signature fake cough, "Hem-Hem", when she wanted someone's attention, rudely interrupting them, as well as usually speaking to people she felt were beneath her in a very condescending tone, as if they were simpletons or very young children.

(Dumbledore once brushed off the fake cough by offering her a cough sweet)

Umbridge was fanatically prejudiced against part-humans (such as werewolves and half-giants), which she called "half-breeds." It was her prejudice that caused her to pass a series of anti-werewolf legislation, which made it almost illegal for those afflicted with lycanthropy to hold jobs. Her prejudice also led to her mistakenly believe that mermaids and centaurs were part-humans, when in fact they were separate species, and in her haste of prosecuting them she would forgo her usual feigned politeness, and be outright rude. However, after the incident with the Hogwarts centaurs, she developed a phobia of centaurs. An odd derivative from this prejudice was that, despite her hatred of half-breeds, Umbridge did not seem to hate part-goblinFilius Flitwick (most likely due to lack of knowledge of Flitwick's ancestry and his undeniably skilled teaching methods), as Fred Weasley stated that she marked him well on his inspection.

Dolores was what could be described as a textbook example of "Lawful Evil". She placed a blind faith in authority, believing that it could not possibly be wrong and this went hand-in-hand with her self-serving nature;[12] she liked power a lot, naturally siding with those who would give her the most authority (as was clearly seen when she was loyal to Fudge over Dumbledore, rather than accepting the truth, and then abandoning Fudge when he was ousted from his office). Umbridge was as ruthless in maintaining her power as she was in seeking it. She desired to exercise complete control over everyone and everything around her.

From her perspective, free speech, dissent, diversity and multiple points of view could not be tolerated. Therefore, Umbridge also represented the qualities of a totalitarian government. She led not by consensus and respect, but rather by fear and intimidation; she had no trouble using any methods available in order to make people obey her, even attempting to use the restricted Veritaserum and then Cruciatus Curse on Harry Potter when he would not supply her with desired information.

Umbridge tormenting Muggle-borns

Indeed, Umbridge was known to rapidly resort to cruel and unusual punishments over perceived slights and take great pleasure in such punishments. Umbridge also liked to showcase her statuses, as she arrogantly told the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest of her many titles, and mounted plaques on her office doors to display these titles. Unaware that she was in possession of Salazar Slytherin's Locket, she falsely claimed it was a family heirloom and proof of her relation to the Selwyn family.

When Fudge was dismissed, Umbridge continued to support the Ministry (such was her devotion to authority) and seemed to try to get to the same position of power she had had with the new Minister Rufus Scrimgeour. Even when the Death Eaters took over, she stood by their side and persecuted Muggle-borns for them. Although she was not a Death Eater, she showed no qualms about indirectly supporting them with her work at the Ministry while it was under Voldemort's control, and freely espoused many of their virtues (even before they gained control of the Ministry).

Umbridge: "Not with your quill, you're going to be using a rather special one of mine. Now I want you to write, I must not tell lies."

Harry: "How many times?"

Umbridge: "Well, let's just say, as long as it takes for the message to — sink in."

She seemed to show particular dislike for Harry Potter, as she violently punished Harry during detentions, and deemed him "Undesirable Number One" during the Death Eaters' reign. During her year as a professor at Hogwarts, she acted as disciplinarian, insisting the students to greet her loudly and clearly in a monotonous style at the beginning of every class, and answer her questions in the same manner.

Despite (or perhaps because of) her feigned politeness, the other teachers found her infuriating. Umbridge became more openly authoritative and cruel as she gained influence over the school, especially during her time as the High Inquisitor, as seen when she interrupted teachers and her leading questions, passive-aggressive comments, and disruptive note taking. She was especially insulting to Hagrid, whom she knew to be a "half-breed," and was blatantly condescending and rude to him during her inspection of his class. She interrupted Dumbledore during his speech at the Start-of-Term Feast, and delivered a very dull speech while being ignorant of the students' restlessness, to the point that Harry speculated that she would have continued with it even if a full-scale riot broke out under her nose.

Umbridge was also a cool-demeanoured sadist who rarely expressed the extent of her anger openly, casually making decrees and handing out torturous punishments with a smile (most notably, forcing Harry to carve "I must not tell lies" into the back of his hand with a Black Quill). She created several new rules and regulations in order to increase control and chances to punish students, despite many of them being ridiculous and unfair.

Umbridge occasionally lost her temper, when she did not have things her way, such as when Fred and George Weasley began a rebellion against her during her time as Headmistress. When Marietta Edgecombe had her memories secretly modified by Kingsley Shacklebolt and did not tell the truth about Dumbledore's Army, Umbridge physically shook Marietta very hard, and only stopped when Dumbledore pointed his wand at her. She also had a tantrum when the gargoyle of the Headmaster's office refused to let her in when she became Headmistress, and an outburst against "half-breeds" led her to be carried away by centaurs in the Forbidden Forest.

"I am a tolerant woman, but the one thing I won't stand for is disloyalty."

Umbridge was also a hypocrite, as although she claimed during the Start-of-Term Feast that she assured the students that they would all be very good friends, she admitted later that she actually hated children. Despite claiming to be a "tolerant woman" who does not stand for disloyalty, she frequently attempted to silence those she disagreed with. Her racism and hatred of both "half-breeds" and "Mudbloods" showed that she had not an ounce of tolerance in her, while her constantly shifting attachment to the currently most powerful shows utter disloyalty. Despite her incessant claims that telling lies was wrong, she was perfectly willing to lie without shame when it suited her.

Umbridge was presumably capable and fairly intelligent, as she was high-ranking in the Ministry at a relatively young age. However, this was probably more a credit to her ability to manipulate and her unabashed opportunism, and not indicative of any remarkable magical ability. In fact, her general magical knowledge seemed limited, as she unreasonably demanded Snape to brew Veritaserum in less than the required month after she squandered an entire bottle on one previous interrogation, despite Snape already telling her that three drops would suffice. She also could not figure out how the students were suffering from the symptoms of "Umbridge-itis", nor how to remove the Weasleys' Wildfire Whiz-bangs and the Portable Swamp left by Fred and George Weasley, which Flitwick cleaned up in a matter of seconds. Her style of teaching students was also simply having them read from the textbook, while avoiding any practical lessons and answering students' questions, suggesting that she was inadequate in teaching, something Professor McGonagall made clear during Harry's Careers Advice; indeed, Umbridge believed that theories were enough for students to get by exams and mastering self-defence, which many situations prove her wrong, though she refused to acknowledge that fact. Despite her wickedness and support of Death Eaters, she was at least known by reputation not to be a Death Eater herself. In what appears to be an ironic twist or inconsistency, she could produce a Patronus Charm, a feat that would be impossible for a truly evil person as it would cause maggots to devour that person instead, evidence that she had at least some good within her, however invisible it may seem.

Magical abilities and skills

Despite her high ranking position in the Ministry, at first glance Umbridge doesn't appear to be a particularly powerful witch. She had no knowledge of the brewing process for Veritaserum and because she required it (and unwisely squandering the entire bottle for one interrogation despite already being told that it was not necessary), it is unlikely that she is a Legilimens. She could not eliminate either the Weasleys' Wildfire Whiz-bangs and their Portable Swamp, feats that other professors easily did (which they refused to at first, just to give Umbridge trouble). She was also unable to remove Marietta Edgecombe's "SNEAK" pimple formation, implying that she may not be very skilled with counter-jinxes (although it is possible that no counter-jinx existed for Hermione's spell). Her real magical power and knowledge were mainly focused in offensive and defensive magic, particularly of a darker variety. Ironically it was this that a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher was supposed to teach, and that she tried to prevent the students from learning. Her beliefs in theories would be sufficient for her class and having them read from books further indicate inadequacy in understanding and teaching skills, especially when the said theories were actually inaccurate and disagreeable.

Charms: Umbridge was able to cast a Shield Charm strong enough to repel projectiles with ease in a fraction of a second.[13] She could also conjure the highly advanced Patronus Charm (especially in a corporeal form) even under the influence of Dark Magic; in fact, due to her malice and the locketHorcrux being compatible with one other, her Patronus was strengthened by Lord Voldemort's fragmented soul.[9] it took the form of a Persian cat.

Dark Arts: Umbridge was sure of her ability to cast the Cruciatus Curse, which would require the desire to inflict harm on the victim, her sadism being a perfect prerequisite. It is possible she contemplated using the Killing Curse on Harry and Hermione when she realised that they tricked her before the centaurs appeared.[14]

Transfiguration: The true extent of Umbridge's Transfiguration skills are unknown, though she was able to effectively conjure ropes at a moment's notice, which is an advanced form of Transfiguration.

Possessions

Dolores Umbridge's wand

Wand: Umbridge owned a wand made of birch and dragon heartstring. It is noted for being unusually short in length, only eight inches. It was snapped in half when a centaur stomped on it. She got a replacement as she was able to cast a Patronus Charm more than one year later, but this wand was confiscated when she was arrested.

Ornamental Plates: Dolores owned many ornamental kitten plates which she hung all along the walls of her office at Hogwarts School, as well as her office at the Ministry.

Black Quill: Umbridge owned as least one Blood Quill which she used as a method of punishment, she had students who displeased her write lines using a blood quill, which Minerva McGonagall considered a "medieval method" of punishment. This quill was her own invention.

Relationships

Family

Under the influence of her father, Dolores blamed her mother for being the cause to her brother being born without magical powers, as well as looking down on said brother. Coupled with Ellen's flightiness and untidiness, Dolores came to hate both her mother and brother. She considered them to be inferior and upon reaching 15 years old, she and her father remained in the wizarding world, while Ellen took her son and returned to the Muggle world, never seeing each other again.

Despite her father being the source of influence on her prejudiced views on blood purity, Dolores found him rather irksome for his unambitious nature, as a janitorial worker at the bottom of the social ladder. While climbing the ranks in the Ministry herself, Dolores found her father to be a source of embarrassment, and pressured him into an early retirement, disappearing from public sight in exchange for the promise of a small allowance. However, this was clearly a lie, as Dolores managed to sever ties with her father and denounce him to give herself a better public image. Whenever her colleagues (mostly the ones who dislike her) asks if she is related to the Umbridge who used to mop floors, she would use her sweetest smile (which indicates her suppressed rage) to deny all connections, and falsely claimed that her deceased father was an esteemed member of the Wizengamot. Nasty things tend to happen to people who ask about Orford, or anything else Dolores did not want to talk about, so people who wished to be on her good side would pretend to believe her false heritage.

Ambitious and prejudiced, Dolores was utterly disgusted with all three of family members, having no love for any of them, dismissing them and severing all ties with them due to their low birth and/or poor social statuses, and never again speaking about any of them. She then lied to others being a pure-blood, seeing herself as such, and even falsely connecting herself to the prestigious Selwyn family, to bolster her pure-blood credentials and cover her shameful heritage.

Harry Potter

"As I told you once before, Mr Potter, naughty children deserve to be punished."

Dolores Umbridge did everything in her power to make Harry Potter's life as miserable as possible, and thus, the two of them had a mutual loathing for each other. In the summer of 1995, Umbridge sent two Dementors after Harry and his cousin Dudley. This was an attempt to silence him from contradicting the Ministry's official opinion that Lord Voldemort had not returned. Umbridge was one of Harry's jurors when he was summoned to the Ministry for a trial of the underage magic he used to fend off the dementors, and she wanted him to be convicted, but he was acquitted due to the efforts of Albus Dumbledore and Arabella Figg.

With Dolores Umbridge as his new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Harry found himself hating Umbridge the moment he set his eyes on her, from her fluffy pink cardigan to her high-pitched girlish voice, despite not having an actual reason at the time. He often was outspoken in class and suffered for his inability to control his temper; he served detention several times with her during that year if which he would be forced to write lines with his own blood using a Blood Quill, magically scarring Harry's hand. Minerva McGonagall was highly critical of Umbridge's methods, and warned Harry not to cross her because he would get into big trouble at school, and possibly even with the Ministry.

"Harry felt a strong urge to swing around and seize her by the throat"

Using her newly acquired power under the Educational Decrees from the Ministry, she banned all extra-curricular activities and gatherings until they were approved by the High Inquisitor (herself); this meant that the House Quidditch teams were disbanded. Slytherin's team was immediately reinstated while Gryffindor was delayed from reforming for nearly a month after then-captain Angelina Johnson put in the request. As well as making Harry use a quill that would slice open his hand and cause him to write in his own blood, she banned Harry, Fred, and George from playing Quidditch later in the year after they attacked Draco Malfoy (though their bans were all lifted following Umbridge's eventual removal from Hogwarts) for his cruel insults.

Dolores forcing Harry to write lines with his own blood as ink during a detention

Umbridge monitored all incoming and outgoing mail, and Harry's owl Hedwig was injured on Umbridge's orders. She made it difficult for Harry, Ron, and Hermione to visit Hagrid. When Rita Skeeter published an article in The Quibbler about Harry's past experiences with Voldemort during the Triwizard Tournament, Dolores banned Harry from trips to Hogsmeade. Umbridge nearly used the Cruciatus Curse to get Harry to talk before Hermione intervened and together with Harry, tricked Umbridge into going into the Forest to show her "Dumbledore's weapon." This resulted in Umbridge being carried off by the centaurs, whom she had attacked first, due to her hatred of half-breeds.

After the Ministry had finally acknowledged Voldemort's return to power, Umbridge was removed from Hogwarts. However, Harry was furious to learn later that year that Umbridge was still working for the Ministry of Magic. The next year, Voldemort took over the Ministry. Umbridge showed her respect for Voldemort and the Death Eaters by taking part in the hunt for Harry Potter. She branded Harry as "Undesirable No.1," and was given the job of Head of the Muggle-Born Registration Commission, a job that involved sadistically sentencing innocent Muggle-borns to Azkaban on the false charge of stealing magic. Harry learned that Umbridge had one of Voldemort's Horcruxes and Mad Eye Moody's magical eye in her possession. During the Infiltration of the Ministry of Magic, Harry saw Umbridge ruthlessly interrogating a poor Muggle-born. Enraged, Harry Stunned Umbridge and retrieved the Horcrux. He also took the eye from her office and buried it.

Cornelius Fudge

Umbridge was Cornelius Fudge's right-hand woman, being his Senior-Undersecretary, and he trusted her greatly to place her into Hogwarts to control it. He granted her many powers through Educational Decrees, and full-heartedly agreed with all of her comments and mockeries against Dumbledore and Harry. Fudge seemed to be unaware of Umbridge's sadistic and dark nature. In return, Umbridge was loyal to Fudge only because of the power he was offering her, and felt no true attachments to the misguided man. She was also willing to break the law behind the Minister's back to achieve results, such as summoning Dementors in an attempt to expel Harry, as well as attempting to use the illegal Cruciatus Curse for interrogation, all the while stating that "what Cornelius doesn't know won't hurt him". In short, Umbridge used Fudge to further her lust for power. When Fudge was dismissed, Umbridge stood beside the new Ministers instead.

Ministry of Magic

As the Senior Undersecretary of the Minister for Magic, Umbridge was incredibly supportive of the aims of her superiors, Ministers Fudge, Scrimgeour, and Thicknesse. During their respective downfalls, however, Umbridge did not try to stand up for them, meaning that she only served them loyally for the power that she was offered, and felt no true attachments towards any of them. Some of her equals also respected her enough. In fact, Percy Weasley sent a letter to his younger brother, stating that Umbridge was a "really delightful woman", and that Ron should side with her instead of continuing to associate with Harry. However, others, like Amelia Bones and Arthur Weasley, didn't appear to like her. Furthermore, some lower-ranking employees tended to talk ill of her behind her back, as seen when she was the head of the Muggle-Born Registration Commission, when some pamphlet makers complained about her usage of Alastor Moody's magical eye to monitor them. She mainly keeps up the facade of a respectable official amongst most of her equals and superiors, but has no trouble tyrannizing her subordinates. After the Ministry reformed under Kingsley Shacklebolt's guidance, Umbridge was arrested, tried, and imprisoned for her crimes against Muggle-borns.

Minerva McGonagall

Minerva McGonagall: "He has achieved high marks in all of his Defence against the Dark Arts tests —"

Umbridge: "I'm terribly sorry to have to contradict you, Minerva, but as you will see from my note, Harry has been achieving very poor results in his classes with me —"

Minerva McGonagall: "I should have made my meaning plainer... He has achieved high marks in all Defence Against the Dark Arts tests set by a competent teacher."

Minerva McGonagall disliked Dolores Umbridge from the beginning, and their relationship only worsened over time. When the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher began to invade Hogwarts with her Hogwarts High Inquisitor position, she did everything she could in her power to circumvent Umbridge's authority without risking the loss of her job. During Umbridge's inspections of McGonagall's class, Minerva tried for the most part to ignore Dolores. This was difficult, due to Umbrige's constant interruptions of McGongall using her signature soft, girlish cough of "Hem hem". When forced to acknowledge Umbridge's presence, McGonagall treated her with a cold and harsh demeanour, to the pleasure of many students.

Dolores and Minerva

Although Dolores had the power to put Minerva on probation or even sack her, Minerva was not afraid to show her disgust and hatred of Dolores to her face. Despite this, she understood that Umbridge had a lot of power and that she was reporting directly to Cornelius Fudge, and so Minerva once warned Harry Potter to tread carefully around Umbridge. Even so, she vehemently vouched for Harry during their Career Advice session, claiming that she would coach him nightly if she had to in order to realise his dream of becoming an Auror, after Umbridge's furious protests that Harry would never become one. After Umbridge fired Sybill Trelawney from her post as Divination teacher, Minerva even put aside her mild dislike of Sybill to focuse even more on her hatred of Dolores.

Even when Dolores took over Hogwarts, replacing Albus Dumbledore as Head of the school, Minerva continued to help undermine Umbridge's reign, preferring to watch her struggle with the chaos that was being caused by the students and Peeves (and sometimes even helping with it). When Minerva was attacked and sent to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, Dolores was pleased that she had full control of Hogwarts. After Minerva's return to Hogwarts, Minerva did nothing to curb the students' enthusiasm when Peeves chased Dolores from Hogwarts, only lamenting that she could not run after Umbridge herself (because the poltergeist had taken her walking stick to hit Dolores with as he followed her from the school).

Fred and George Weasley hated Umbridge, who was appointed by the Ministry of Magic as the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor in 1995. Umbridge was a sadistic woman who enjoyed punishing and torturing students. Almost every resident of Hogwarts at the time hated Umbridge, but she particularly hated Harry Potter, Fred, and George. When George and Harry attacked Draco Malfoy after a Gryffindor — Slytherin Quidditch match, Umbridge kicked them off the team, along with Fred. Fred and George were the only ones who opposed Umbridge. They developed special fireworks and set them off within the castle after Umbridge was appointed Head of Hogwarts. The fireworks took fantastical forms, such as a monstrous light dragon and Catherine wheels. They also created a Portable Swamp, which was commended by Charms Professor Filius Flitwick as a bit of "really good magic," in order to anger Umbridge just before leaving Hogwarts. When she attempted to punish them, Fred and George insulted her in front of the whole school and then fled with their broomsticks, much to her absolute fury, as she ordered her Inquisitorial Squad to apprehend the two, which failed. In response, the twins "strongly suggested" that Peeves "give her hell from us" before flying out of the castle grounds, a departure that would become something of a legend at the school.

Inquisitorial Squad

The Inquisitorial Squad

Some of the Slytherin students as well as the caretaker, Argus Filch, happily supported Umbridge during her reign as the High Inquisitor and later Headmistress of Hogwarts; relating her cruelty and sadism with their own ambitions. In fact, Filch claimed that Umbridge was the best thing to happen to Hogwarts, falling for her ploy to gain his trust by rewarding him with, for example, permission to use torture as a form of punishment.

Other Hogwarts residents

Sybill Trelawney: "No! NO! This cannot be happening... It cannot... I refuse to accept it!"

Umbridge: "You didn't realise this was coming? Incapable though you are of predicting even tomorrow's weather, you must surely have realised that your pitiful performance during my inspections, and lack of any improvement, would make it inevitable you would be sacked?"

While at Hogwarts, Dolores Umbridge was, overall, an unpleasant person to be around. As such, she was highly unpopular to most students and teachers in Hogwarts school. In fact, she was despised or feared by many of the other residents of the grounds, such as the Ghosts, Paintings, House Elves, and the Forbidden Forest Centaurs. She would constantly interrupt teachers, such as Dumbledore during his welcoming speech, with her high-pitched girlish cough of "Hem hem" and speak to students in a condescending tone, as if they were simpletons or her inferiors. However, Dumbledore could not do anything about her due to her being appointed by the Ministry, and school life was made infinitely more difficult — for students and staff alike — by her presence.

Umbridge was particularly offensive and prejudiced towards Hagrid, due to his half-giant blood, and to Professor Trelawney, who Umbridge believed was a fraud. Eventually, Umbridge sacked Trelawney and attempted to rudely evict her from the school, only to be foiled by Dumbledore. This also turned even more of the students and staff against her. In fact, the school itself appeared to deny her authority, sealing the Headmaster's office against her. In addition, Umbridge liked to intimidate Snape, despite both of them sharing a dislike of Harry Potter. Unlike Trelawney, who took these horrible comments to heart and was deeply insulted, Snape rarely took any of her tauntings seriously. Besides, the staff, students, and Peeves, the residents of the castle paintings also regarded her and her helpers with general distaste, swearing and making rude hand gestures at her and Cornelius Fudge when they left the Headmaster's office in pursuit of Dumbledore. Dobby was also terrified of her, warning of her approach to Harry in hysterics, and barely able to say her name.

Umbridge: "You're on Probation!"

Severus Snape: "*looks back at her, his eyebrows slightly raised*"

Umbridge: "You are being deliberately unhelpful! I expected better, Lucius Malfoy always speaks most highly of you! Now get out of my office!"

— Umbridge's assessment of Snape after he tells her that he has no more Veritaserum[src]

Umbridge especially disliked Albus Dumbledore, as he kept undermining her attempts to wrest control of Hogwarts. She, like Cornelius Fudge, believed that Dumbledore was trying to overthrow the Ministry of Magic and hence usurp the position of Minister for Magic. Of all, she was the only character in the series who did the feat (and mistake) of angering Dumbledore when she attacked a student in his front, a thing that even Voldemort himself was not able to do.

After Umbridge's departure, the renewed Potions masterHorace Slughorn claimed that he thought of her as an "idiotic woman" and that he never liked her, especially after hearing that she foolishly angered the herd of already angry centaurs.

However, Marietta betrayed the Army to Umbridge, because of her parents' loyalty to the Ministry. Although Umbridge feigned kindness in encouraging Marietta to do "the right thing," when Kingsley Shacklebolt secretly modified Marietta's memory, Umbridge was furious with the young girl for being unable to answer her questions. This caused the High Inquisitor to shake Marietta violently, until Dumbledore quickly stepped in.

"Half-breeds" and "Mudbloods"

Umbridge always had a prejudiced view on those who were part-humans. She used the derogatory term "half-breed," and treated them particularly horribly. This extended to creatures that looked like part-humans, but were in fact a separate breed, such as centaurs, merpeople, and werewolves, as she either mistook them to be human-animal hybrids or simply found their appearances of being partially human revolting. Regardless of her definition of "half-breeds," she was extremely cruel to them, writing an anti-werewolf legislation so they could barely find employment, and suggesting merpeople to be rounded up and tagged.

In particular, Umbridge was horrible to half-giantRubeus Hagrid, treating him like a dimwitted and violent troll, and ultimately tried to attack him under the cover of darkness. Umbridge was also horrified at the appointment of the new Divination teacher, the centaur Firenze. Her prejudice eventually led her to foolishly insult and anger a herd of centaurs who dragged her away, which led her to develop a phobia towards centaurs.

However, despite her hatred towards half-breeds, Umbridge did not seem to hate part-goblinFilius Flitwick, judging by Fred Weasley's statement that she passed him on his inspection. Although, this is most likely a result of Umbridge's lack of knowledge on Flitwick's ancestry. Alternatively, it is possible that Flitwick's all-around competence led to her being unable to find a pretext to mark him down.

Umbridge's hatred extending to Muggle-borns

One year before she was incarcerated in Azkaban, Umbridge's cruel prejudice extended to Muggle-borns, due to her conformity of the ideology of blood purity.

Death Eaters

A masked Death Eater

Although Umbridge was not a Death Eater, and had no direct contact with Lord Voldemort, she showed that she was fairly in line with their goals. This was due to Umbridge's callous nature, prejudiced beliefs (Both of which were similar to Death Eater behaviour). and her antagonism and disrespect to Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore, whom she tried to hinder or thwart on several occasions. Umbridge seemed to be on friendly terms with Lucius Malfoy, a known Death Eater who had close connections with the Ministry.

In addition, Umbridge was seen working alongside Yaxley, another Death Eater, who was part of the Muggle-Born Registration Commission which Umbridge was in charge of. Umbridge's duties as the head of this commission involved sadistically prosecuting innocent Muggle-borns who were the enemies of the Death Eaters. However, Umbridge was never actually part of Voldemort's ring of Death Eaters, although it appears that with her Mudblood prejudice leaflet, she supported Mudblood segregation. However, it was never indicated that Umbridge was actually joining Voldemort, or if she was aware of the truth of their involvement in the changed attitude at the Ministry in 1998. However given her nature and attitude, it can be presumed that if she knew, it was unconcerning to her.

Etymology

Dolores is a common Spanish name, although it also occurs as an English name. In Spanish and Latin, "dolores" is also the plural form of "dolor", which means pain. In English, the similar sounding word "Dolorous" means causing or expressing grief and suffering. Dolor is the Danish name of the Cruciatus Curse.

"Umbridge" is a pun on the English "umbrage" meaning "offence or insult", indicates that Dolores Umbridge is destined to do only harm and cause only unhappiness. It also symbolises how she is offended by any challenge to her limited world-view.

It also may derive from the Latin "umbra", referring to the darkest part of a shadow. Umbra can also mean 'unwanted guest'.

According to another remotely possible etymological theory her name derives from the German verb "umbringen", which translates into "to kill".

The power granted to Umbridge by Fudge to consolidate his political strength and squash his perceived enemies is not unlike the abuse members of the Nixon administration committed during the Watergate Era. In addition, Umbridge's final crimes are the "ethnic cleansing" of Muggle born wizards, analogous to the Nazi persecutions leading to the Holocaust.

Actress Staunton told that she nearly vomited when she had film the scene where Umbridge makes Harry write in his own blood during his fifth year. She said it was the most "sickening parts she ever filmed."

Professor Umbridge is one of the least popular Harry Potter characters in the opinions of the main characters. However, Neville Longbottom has stated that she was significantly less harsh then the Carrows as she did not directly use dark magic. J. K. Rowling herself has noted that Umbridge is "a nasty piece of work." One of the producers of the series movies described her as a splice between Doris Day and Freddy Krueger.

In the fifth film adaptation, Umbridge does not say the Harry Potter's first name at all. She does use the name "Potter" when saying his surname or calling him "Mr. Potter" when addressing Harry and she only 'says' 'Harry' when her portrayer Imelda Staunton is in an interview of Disc 2 Special Features.

Umbridge may be related to Death Eater Selwyn, as she claimed in Deathly Hallows that she was related to the Selwyn family, though this may have been a lie to "bolster her own pure-blood credentials."

Interestingly enough, when she finds Hermione (disguised as Mafalda Hopkirk) she says "Travers sent you, did he?" Travers is also a Death Eater. Perhaps by coincidence, Travers and Selwyn are the two Death Eaters that attack Harry, Ron, and Hermione when they go to see Xenophilius Lovegood.

The only staff member to ever like Umbridge was Argus Filch, who thought she was the best thing to happen to Hogwarts. This was mostly since she gave him powers over students to whip them or hang them by their ankles in exchange for him spying for her.

Despite her hatred towards half-breeds, Umbridge did not seem to hate part-goblin Filius Flitwick, as Fred Weasley stated that she marked him well on his inspection. (This may be due to the fact that the goblin blood comes from a distant ancestor.) In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix however, she does harass Flitwick by measuring him as if there is a height requirement. Most likely this was an exercise in making herself feel better about her own short stature.

In the Order of the Phoenix film adaptation Umbridge is shown with blue eyes, but in the book she is described to have "slitted brown" eyes.

In the Deathly Hallows Part 1 video game, the Expulsospellbook is in her office, squarely in the centre of her desktop. It is not elaborated on why she possessed this item, though it is quite possible that she'd confiscated it. It is also possible that it was actually hers, since her magical power was concentrated in offensive and defensive magic.

The influence of the Locket on Umbridge is notably similar to the influence of the Ring of Power on Galadriel, in that both experienced amplified magical power and malice. Both were also being influenced by the rehoused soul of a Dark wizard, more or less (although, unlike Galadriel, Umbridge was already evil).

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, during the infiltration of the Ministry of Magic, Umbridge's Patronus was very clearly seen several times in the same scene and often looked less like a cat and more like a reanimated, feline corpse, with the skeletal features visible. This is odd for a Patronus (they usually look quite "alive" and well) and its twisted form may be a nod to both Umbridge's nature and the circumstances under which it was cast. It is considered that she still has some goodness, no matter how small, inside of her, since a "truly" evil person cannot cast a Patronus since the spell would backfire and cause maggots to devour the caster.

In Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7, Umbridge is seen to have great evasion as she is capable of performing flips while fighting against centaurs in the episode "A Giant Virtuoso." She also has the habit to change books about offensive use of spells into pink books about cats, much to students' irritation.

In the film adaptations, her hairstyle bears a resemblance to that of Margaret Thatcher, a controversial former British Prime Minister.

In the "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries" a Emmy winning Youtube vlog modern version of "Pride and Prejudice", as Ashley Clemmets (Lizzie Bennet) used Umbridge as an inspiration to perform Lady Catherine De Bough in several of the episodes, throughout the series.

Much of her tyrannical rise to power was shown, as she wanted to cast a Cruciatus Curse on Harry, an Unforgivable Curse. It is unknown how much the spell would be painful to Harry, but considering her nature, the spell would be almost as powerful as Bellatrix Lestrange's Cruciatus Curse.

Notes and references

↑Umbridge's Pottermore biography (link) states that she was Head of the Improper Use of Magic Office "before she was thirty". This implies that she was at least thirty when she was known to be Senior Undersecretary, in 1995

↑A deleted scene from the film version of Order of the Phoenix, and included on the DVD, shows Umbridge talking herself into taking extreme action against Harry and Hermione after they take her into the forest. She raises her wand, but is interrupted by the arrival of the centaurs. Although no spell is uttered by her, the context of her actions — that she felt she was acting for the greater good — could suggest she was preparing to cast the Killing Curse, or some equally nasty piece of Dark magic.

↑As part of a special unlockable extra on J.K. Rowling's official website, there is an early draft of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, where Rowling describes a character very much like Dolores Umbridge, but who is named Elvira. Rowling has admitted that Elvira was her original name.